‘There’s a hunger’: Local pianist gives free concerts at arts center

By the time Bruce Murray walks out of the double doors and into the Oxford Community Arts Center’s ballroom, most of the seats turned toward the piano are full. The audience erupts into applause as Murray bows and takes his seat.

Then, without a word, he launches into a piece he’s never performed before.

Haydn’s Sonata in C is light and bouncy. The music jumps between levity and intensity throughout its three movements. Most importantly for Murray and the program he’s written for his free June 9 concert, Haydn has a reputation for being a funny composer.

Writing funny lyrics is easy, Murray wrote in the program notes, but writing funny music itself is a taller task. That idea was central to his June 9 concert, the first of three free performances Murray is giving at the arts center, which he based around Mozart’s Sonata in F, K. 280. That piece is filled with little in-jokes for musicians and passages to make Mozart’s father angry, Murray says, and that made him think more about humor in music.

Haydn’s reputation as a musical comic may be overblown, but Murray included him anyway. Beyond being a familiar name, the piece gave Murray a chance to perform something new.

“Even my wife hasn’t heard me play that … I don’t practice at home when she’s home,” Murray said. “I learned that piece for this concert, basically since classes ended. It’s a pretty quick thing, but it’s in my ears. I know how it goes.”

Murray, a professor of emerging technology in business and design at Miami University, has been giving free concerts each summer since 2016. His life has always been filled with music, including as chair of Miami’s music department from 2012 to 2017,  the role that brought him to Oxford.

“It’s something I can’t get away from,” Murray said. “I’m pretty old, and it seems that I’m doing the same things as I did when I was 16: playing music and putting on shows and doing odd stuff on computers. I haven’t changed at all in that respect.”

During his education, some of Murray’s teachers and peers expected him to become a concert pianist. Aside from the anticipated travel and difficult work-life balance, Murray said that idea never appealed to him because of the stagnant repertoire. Many pianists, he said, perform the same pieces for entire seasons, not nearly the variety he’s always been interested in.

Murray’s next concert at the arts center, set for 6 p.m. June 23, will feature a variety of “almost ambient” music from different time periods. On July 7, his final concert of the season will include pieces inspired by Parisian salons. Murray said he makes a point to seek out works from female composers and other represented groups when he performs.

In the past, Murray used to perform 30 to 40 concerts per year. He’s slowed down since then, but he hasn’t stopped. Despite his passion for performance, he wouldn’t describe playing for an audience as fun. The real reward comes the day after a concert in knowing that you’ve done it, he said.

Performing at the arts center has also come with rewards of its own. Murray expected about 20 people to show up at his first performance in 2016. Instead, he performed for 100 people. That audience size has stayed consistent since then.

“Right then, I realized there’s a hunger, there’s a need [for music in Oxford],” Murray said. “... Since I was the chair for the music department, a lot of music faculty have started giving their recitals at the arts center.”

Part of Murray’s decision to move from Miami’s music department to emerging technology in business and design was because of decreased funding for the arts nationally in 2017. He has kept music as an integral part of his life, but saw the technological aspects of his current role as the direction education is moving. He still makes a point to advocate for performance and music education, though.

Supporting the arts is more important than ever today, Murray said. According to a 2023 survey by the National Association for Music Education, roughly two in five schools used federal funding to support music and arts instruction in the 2022-23 school year. When schools face budget cuts, music and art programs are often the first to go, and federal funding cuts, including through the National Endowment for the Arts, have put money at risk. 

During his June 9 performance, Murray called on attendees to keep showing up to cultural and musical events in town and voice their support.